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BODxffiLL,  JOSEPH  CONNER 
An  address,  delivered  at  the 
funeral  of  Ella  Chichester 


CT 

275 

N74B7 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  frgm 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/addressdeliveredOObodwiala 


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AN 


A  D  D  R  E  S 


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DELIVERED     AT 


2rijr    iFttuetal 


ELLA  CHICHESTER  NORTHROP 


ATl'ItDAY.    OOTOUKK     :'..     18G1. 


AT      rilK     C()N(iI{E(4A  r[()N'AL     CHL'HCH, 


SAXONVILLE,     MASS. 


KV    REV.    J.    C.    BODWELL, 


BOSTON: 
S.    CHISM,— I'UAXKl.lN    PUI\T[N(;    H  O  U  S  K 

UAWI.  EY     STKKKT,     C  O  K  X  E  R     OF     FUANKMN. 

1  8  (U  . 


AN 


ADDRESS, 


SEUVERED     AT 


or 

ELLA    CHICHESTER    NORTHROP, 

SATURDAY,    OCTOBER    5,    1861, 

AT    THE    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH, 

SAXOKTII,LE.    3IAS8. 


BY    REV.    J.    C.    BODWELL.  • 


0* 


BOSTON: 
6.    CHISM,  — FRANKLIN   PRINTING   HOUSE, 

HAW LEY     STHEET,    CORNER    OF    FRANKLIN. 

1861. 


ELDEST  DAUGHTEE  OF 
DIED   VERT  BDDDENLT, 

OF      DIPHTHERIA, 

On    Thursday    morning,    October   3,   1861, 

Aged  fourteen  years  and  ten  months. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNU 
SANTA  BARBARA 


ADDRESS. 


"  Tis  God  that  lifts  our  comforts  high, 
Or  sinks  them  in  the  grave ; 
He  gives,  and  (blessed  be  his  name !) 
He  takes  but  what  he  gave. 

"  Peace,  all  our  troubled  passions,  then. 
Let  each  rebellious  sigh 
Be  silent  at  his  sovereign  wiU, 
And  every  murmur  die." 

"Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son 
whom  he  receiveth." 

"  I  was  dumb,  and  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou  did  'st  it." 

*'  The  cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?  " 

"He  maketh  sore  and  bindeth  up;  he  woundeth,  and  his  hands 
make  whole." 

"  Is  it  well  with  thee  ?  is  it  weU  with  thy  husband  ?  is  it  well  with 
the  child  ?  "    And  she  answered,  "  It  is  well." 

When  the  heart  is  bowed  down  and  crushed  under 
a  huge  sorrow,  and  seems  as  if  it  must  bleed  its  own 
life  away,  there  is  one  consideration  —  if  there  be 
another  I  know  not  what  it  is  —  which  can  bring  re- 


lief.  That  stricken  Hebrew  father  leaned  upon  this 
consideration  for  support  when  he  said,  "It  is  the 
Lord;  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good."  The 
patriarch  felt  its  power,  and  added  praise  to  submis- 
sion amid  the  wreck  of  his  earthly  estate;  "The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Jesus  entered,  for  his 
people,  into  the  same  strong  hold  of  faith  and  rest ; 
"  The  cup  which  my  father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not 
drink  it?" 

This  one  commanding  consideration  is  the  hand  of 
God  in  our  afflictions.  That  which  God  does  must  be 
right,  though  the  earth  be  removed,  and  though  the 
mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea.  The 
deeply  affecting  event  which  has  brought  us  here  at 
this  time  was  no  accident.  Sudden  and  sad  and  dark 
exceedingly  to  us,  it  was  interwoven  in  God's  great 
plan,  and  came  to  pass  by  deliberate  pre-arrangement 
and  fixed  law  of  sequence,  not  less  than  the  fulness  of 
the  autumn,  or  the  return  of  the  planets  in  their  an- 
nual revolutions.  It  came  because  the  plan  of  God 
was  very  good,  and  the  time  appointed  had  arrived. 
Her  days  were  determined,  the  number  of  her 
months  was  with  God ;  he  had  appointed  her  bounds 
that  she  could  not  pass. 

We  are  called  upon  devoutly  to  acknowledge  his 
great  and  peculiar  mercy  in  having  so  prepared 
the  way  for   this  calamity,  that  it  should  not  fall 


6- 

with  an  absolutely  crushing  force.     When,  at   the 
close  of  the   last  year,  Ella  communicated   to   her 
parents  her  full  and   deliberate   decision   to   be   a 
Christian,  was  there  not  a  joy  in  these  now  stricken 
hearts;  deep  and  unutterable,  because  great  prefer- 
ment had  come  to  this  their  first-born  child  ?     How 
small  a  thing  had  it  been  in  comparison,  if  a  jewelled 
crown  had  been  set  upon  that  fair  brow !     To  have  a 
place  assigned  her  among  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
God,  and  to  recognize  therein  the  Divine  faithfulness 
and  the  fulfilment  of  the  covenant,  this  was  a  joy 
with  which  a  stranger  might  not  intermeddle.     Could 
it  once  have  entered  the  thoughts  of  these  parents, 
that  God  was  preparing  their  darling  child  for  yet 
higher  honors,  and  their  own  hearts  for  the  otherwise 
overwhelming  sorrow  of  this  day  ?     Eventful  year  in 
the  history  of  this  bereaved  and  weeping  household ! 
Year  of  a  double  promotion,  how  speedily  accom- 
phshed !     I  know,  my  dear  brother  and  sister,  how 
much  it  was  in  your  hearts  to  have  done  for  this  be- 
loved child,  if  she  had  been  spared  to  you.     How 
freely  you  would  have  lavished  upon  her  all  the 
richest  gifts  in  the  power  of  your  hand  to  confer. 
Yet  how  far  short  it  must  have  fallen  of  what  her 
Redeemer  has  done  for  her.     Her  eyes  closed  forever 
on  this  world  and  all  its  attractions,  how  far  trans- 
cending in  beauty  and  blessedness  are  the  scenes 
amid  which  she  is  moving  now,  clothed  with  a  divine 


6 

radiance,  filled  with  a  holy  and  unmingled  joy.  The 
father  of  David  did  not  nurse  the  sharp  pang  of  part- 
ing, when  his  child  was  withdrawn  from  his  early 
home  and  his  shepherd's  calling,  and  promoted  to  be 
a  king.  Mordecai  had  only  tears  of  joy  to  shed,  when 
Esther,  who  had  been  to  him  as  his  own  child,  was 
preferred  by  Ahasuerus  to  all  the  beauty  of  his  court, 
and  a  fair  crown  set  upon  her  head.  An  overmaster- 
ing joy  shall,  doubtless,  succeed  to  the  sadness  of  this 
early  parting,  when  you  shall  consider  more  calmly 
than  is  possible  in  this  day  of  rough  tempest,  the  high 
exaltation  to  which  the  Redeemer's  mercy  has  raised 
her. 

Neither  must  it  be  supposed,  because  she  was  beau- 
tiful to  look  upon,  intelligent  and  accomplished  be- 
yond her  years,  overflowing  with  fond  affection,  full 
of  music  and  song,  a  bright  sun-beam  in  her  father's 
house,  attracting  all  by  her  sweetness  and  vivacity 
and  self-forgetfulness,  that  any  of  these  treasures  are 
lost.  He  by  whom  they  were  bestowed  has  a  place 
for  them  all  in  heaven.  There  are  none  on  earth  so 
fair  as  they  who  wander  by  the  crystal  river,  pro- 
ceeding out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
The  sweetest  voices  will  sing  far  more  sweetly  when 
they  shall  stand  with  the  Lamb  on  Mount  Zion  amid 
the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  harpers 
harping  with  their  harps.  In  part,  heaven  is  the 
gathering  up  of  the  treasures  of  this  world.    "  The 


kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honor 

into  it." 

It  was  a  saying  of  the  fathers  when  the  young 
were  called  away, "  My  Beloved  is  gone  down  into 
his  garden  to  gather  lilies."  Is  there  a  flower  so 
fragrant  or  so  beautiful,  that  he  who  gave  it  all  its 
attraction  may  not  gather  it  to  wear  in  his  bosom,  or 
to  weave  into  a  garland  for  his  own  brow  ? 

"  The  dear  delights  we  here  enjoy, 
And  fondly  call  our  own, 
Are  but  short  favors  borrowed  now, 
To  be  repaid  anon." 

I  know,  my  dear  brother  and  sister,  that,  from  this 
sad  day,  your  pilgrimage  must  be  under  a  broad, 
overhanging  cloud,  which  will  fling  its  shadow  over 
all  earthly  things.  But  you  will  remember  that  there 
is  another  side  to  this  sombre  cloud,  bright  with 
ineffable  radiance ;  and  sometimes  the  brightness  of 
that  upper  side  will  pierce  the  shadows,  shedding  a 
mild  lustre  on  your  pathway,  and  a  gleam  of  God's 
sunshine  will  be  in  your  heart. 

As  time  passes  on,  and  the  cares  and  responsibilities 
of  life  command  your  energies,  the  keen  edge  of  your 
sorrow  will  be  abated,  and  you  will  be  filled  with 
submission  and  thankfulness ;  but  this  wound  will  not 
be  healed,  and  you  will  feel  that  it  cannot  be  healed 
fully,  till  you  shall  press  again  to  your  bosom  your 
first-bom  child.    The  pleasant  thought  that  she  awaits 


8 


your  coming  where  all  tears  are  wiped  away,  will  be 
a  solace  many  times  under  the  trials  and  difl&culties 
of  the  journey,  and  a  strong  attraction  to  hasten  your 
footsteps  in  your  homeward  way.  Pleasant  memories, 
too,  will  blend  with  your  sorrows  and  relieve  their 
sharpness.  Chief  among  these,  —  a  cluster  of  rose 
buds  in  your  cypress  wreath,  —  will  be  the  clear  and 
varied  evidences  which  appeared  in  her  daily  life 
while  in  perfect  health,  and  filled  with  the  hope  of 
many  years,  that  she  was  a  sincere  disciple  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Those  hallowed  fire-side  exercises 
of  the  Sabbath  evening  which  had  been  kept  up 
without  interruption  from  her  infancy,  and  in  which 
Ella  took  a  lively  and  growing  interest,  supplying  in 
the  review  and  accounts  of  the  public  religious  ser- 
vices of  the  day  what  the  younger  children  failed  to 
give,  will  be  invested  henceforward  with  a  new 
sacredness,  while  the  sight  of  the  vacant  chair  in 
that  little  circle  will  greatly  encourage  and  confirm 
parental  faith  in  the  God  of  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, that  the  instructions  and  prayers  which  have 
had  so  early  and  blessed  an  issue  in  the  case  of  the 
first-born,  may  lead  to  a  like  happy  result  for  all 
the  rest. 

I  see  in  this  weeping  assembly  those  to  whom  Ella 
was  very  dear  as  a  schoolmate  and  friend.  They  will 
not  need  to  be  reminded  of  the  many  beautiful  traits 
which  excited  so  much  affection  and  so  little  envy  in 


9 

their  bosoms.     You  will  love  to  remember  her  intel- 
ligence and  vivacity,  her  bounding  step  and  laughing 
eye  and  merry,  musical  voice.     You  felt  the  influence 
of  her  example  in  regular  and  punctual  attendance  at 
school,  diligence  in  study,  and  cheerful  compliance 
with  the  wishes  of  her  teachers,  as  well  as  obedience 
to  their  authority.     In  addition  to  all  these,  you  will 
remember  that  God  had  given  her  an  unusually  sweet 
and  unselfish  temper,  a  precious  boon  to  herself  and 
to   all   her   friends   and    associates,  filling   her  own 
soul  with  an  unconscious  joy  when  she  was  imparting 
most  of  happiness  to  others.    But  there  are  some  of 
you  who  now  remember,  as  most  precious  of  all,  that 
simple  piety  of  Ella,  and  how  kindly  she  sought  to 
win  you  to  the  Saviour,  in  whom  she  had  so  early 
learned  to  trust.     That  early  piety  was  the  fruit  of  a 
great  change  wrought  in  her  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God.     For,  with  all  the  sweetness  and  beauty  of 
her  natural  character,  Ella  deeply  felt  that  she  must 
be  born  again  before  she  could  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.     Under  a  deep  sense  of  her  sinfulness 
she  trusted  alone  in  the  cross  of  Christ  for  salvation. 
On  the  last  sabbath  of  the  year  1860  she  said  to  her 
father,  « I  am  older  than  you  were  when  you  gave 
your  heart  to  the  Saviour,  and  now  I  mean  to  be  a 
Christian  from  this  time,  and  to  begin  the  new  year 
in  the  service  of  God."     At  the  evening  meeting  of 
that  holy  Sabbath,  the  pastor  of  the  Church  requested 


10 

as  many  as  desired  the   prayers  of   Christians  for 
themselves  to  rise.     Impelled  by  her  own  strong  de- 
sire and  the  purpose  she  had  uttered,  yet  restrained 
by  her  sensitive  and  shrinking  spirit,  the  dear  child 
nestled  to  her  father's  side  and  asked  him  what  she 
should   do.     Receiving  for    answer,  that   she   must 
obey  the  promptings  of  her  own  heart,  she  deliber- 
ately  rose   and  stood  alone  in  that  full  assembly, 
serene  and  unfaltering.     During  the  few  appointed 
months  that  came  after,  her  life  was  in  harmony  with 
the   solemn   vow  recorded   on  that   day.     Private 
prayer  was  a  pleasant  duty,  regularly  and  conscien- 
tiously performed.     When   absent   from  home,  she 
loved  to  retire  for  a  season,  from  the  liveliest  social 
scenes,  in  order  that  she  might  keep  with  her  mother 
the  hour  appointed  for  their  mutual  remembrace  of 
each   other  at  the    throne   of   grace   during  their 
separation. 

Ella  had  a  few  simple  questions  for  self-examina- 
tion which  she  committed  to  memory  and  frequently 
used.  These  questions  were  the  following,  suggested 
by  our  Lord's  searching  inquiry  to  Peter :  "  Lovest 
thou  me?" 

1.  Do  I  love  my  Saviour's  character? 

2.  Do  I  love  his  truth  and  to  meditate  upon  his 
Word? 

3.  Do  I  love  his  kingdom  and  strive  to  cherish 
his  cause  as  my  own  ? 


11 

4.  Do  I  love  to  please  him  ? 

5.  Do  I  love  to  trust  in  him  ? 

6.  Do  I  love  to  pray  to  him  ? 

"I  hope  I  can  reply  affirmatively  to  them  all,"  she 
used  to  say. 

Whether  the  great  change  took  place  in  Ella  at 
or  near  the  time  at  which  she  expressed  the  determi- 
nation to  be  a  Christian,  it  would  be  exceedingly 
difficult  to  say.  In  the  case  of  those  who  are  trained 
up,  as  she  was,  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,  a  considerable  interval  frequently  elapses  be- 
tween the  period  of  conversion  to  God  and  the  spring- 
ing up  of  hope  in  the  heart.  Her  convictions  of  sin 
were  deep  and  clear,  not  tumultuous  and  agitating. 
This  is  the  usual  experience  of  the  children  of  the 
godly,  although  they  almost  invariably  protest,  with 
much  earnestness,  the  precise  contrary,  and  for  the 
very  obvious  reason  that  their  emotions  of  sorrow  fall 
so  far  short  of  their  convictions  of  sin. 

Before  she  had  ventured  to  indulge  a  hope  that 
she  was  herself  a  child  of  God,  she  felt  it  to  be  a  duty  to 
urge  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  her  associates,  and 
she  did  not  hesitate,  nor  shrink  from  its  performance. 
On  the  next  day  after  she  had  avowed  her  desire  and 
full  purpose  to  be  a  Christian,  she  tenderly  impor- 
tuned some  of  her  schoolmates  to  join  her  in  endeav- 
oring to  lead  a  religious  life.  It  appeared  to  her  to 
be  so  reasonable  and  so  easy  a  thing  to  love  and  obey 


12 

Jesus  Christ,  that  she  was  sanguine  of  success  in  her 
attempts  to  bring  others  to  him.  She  expressed 
great  joy  to  her  parents,  as  one  and  another  of  her 
companions  resolved  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  as  great 
disappointment  and  grief  when  such  efforts  seemed  to 

fail. 

But  all  that  is  past  forever,  and  the  form  which 
lies  before  us,  so  beautiful  and  serene,  as  if  only  a 
gentle  sleep  had  fallen  upon  Ella,  is  unconscious  of 
all  that  is  here  taking  place.  How  like  a  dream  this 
sudden  change  from  full,  joyous  life,  and  vigorous 
health  that  never  knew  an  interruption,  to  the  stillness 
of  death !  She  has  faded  with  the  first  fading  leaves 
of  this  delicious  autumn.  One  short  month  ago,  who 
would  have  thought  of  her  as  marked  for  an  early 
exit,  with  her  fine  constitution,  and  her  unfailing 
physical  vigor  and  elasticity,  guarded  well  by  her 
habits  of  exercise  in  rowing,  skating,  bowling,  and  all 
healthful  sports,  judiciously  blended  with  careful 
mental  training. 

A  week  ago  yesterday  she  took  her  accustomed 
place  in  the  High  School,  apparently  in  perfect 
health.  At  the  morning  recess  she  returned  home, 
complaining  of  indisposition  with  soreness  of  throat, 
and  lay  down  upon  the  bed  from  which  she  was 
never  to  rise.  On  the  following  days,  up  to  Wednes- 
day evening  of  the  present  week,  she  was  cheerful 
and  hopeful,  sitting  up  and  arranging  her  own  hair 


13 

without   a  sign   of  weariness,  when  her  stay  was 
reckoned  in  hours.     Not  a  thought  was  entertained 
but  of  her  speedy  recovery.     Cheering  letters  were 
sent  to  her  father,  who  was  engaged  in  professional 
duties  far  away,  and  on  Thursday  morning  after  she 
had  closed  her  eyes  in  the  last  sleep,  the  post  brought 
a  letter  from   him  in  return,  expressing  the  deep 
thankfulness  of  a  heart  relieved  by  the  latest  tidings 
that  had  reached  him  from  his  home.     The  family 
retired  to  rest  on  Wednesday  night,  with  the  pleasant 
expectation  that  the  morning  would  find  her  refreshed 
and   improved.     At  two    hours    after    midnight,   a 
change  was  manifest ;  all  were  called  to  her  bed-side, 
and  medical  aid  was  immediately  summoned.     But  it 
was  painfully  evident  now  that  the  case  had  passed 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  skill.     Her  breathing 
became  oppressive,  and  she  suffered  much.     A  dear 
friend  who  sat  near,  asked  her  if  she  would  not  like  to 
be  at  rest ;  to  which  she  calmly  replied :  « If  He  calls 
me,  I  shall  be  glad  to  go.     Pray  for  me,  aunty,  that 
he  will  forgive  all  my  sins,  and  take  me  to  himself." 
"  Can  you  look  to  your  Saviour  for  rest  and  peace?" 
"  Yes,  aunty,  I  do  look  to  him,"  was  the  response. 
In  the  words  of  this  friend  —  ^'  She  seemed  not  to 
die,  but  gently  falling  asleep  to  find  the  rest  for  which 
she  had  prayed." 

Within  an  hour  of  her  departure,  when  the  diffi- 
culty of  breathing  had  greatly  increased,  she  said  to 


14 


her  mother  that  she  must  soon  die  unless  she  found 
relief.  "Can  you  not  trust  yourself  with  your 
Saviour,  my  beloved  child?"  her  mother  enquired. 
That  voice  thrilled  all  the  strong  and  tender  cords 
which  bound  her  to  this  world,  yet  moved  her  not 
from  her  settled  confidence  and  sweet  submission. 
"  If  he  thinks  it  best,"  the  dear  girl  replied,  "  I  shall 

be  glad  to  get  well ;  but,  if  it  is  his  will ."     The 

rest  was  heard  by  the  angels  who  bore  her  away. 

Happy  child  of  a  Christian  home !  resigning  herself, 
with  her  last  breath,  to  the  will  of  God  -,  surrender- 
ing, without  a  murmur  or  a  sigh  of  regret,  a  life  which 
to  her  was  very  full  of  sweet  attraction.  What  more 
could  we  have  wished  her  to  feel  or  to  say?  So 
Jesus  prayed  in  the  hour  of  his ,  exceeding  sorrow, 
leaving  for  us  an  example  of  the  highest  faith ;  "  0 
my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ! 
nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  When 
the  clock  struck  five,  and  the  gray  dawn  was  opening 
into  the  beautiful  morning,  the  Divine  will  had  been 
made  known,  and  the  gentle  spirit  of  Ella  had  en- 
tered into  rest.  "  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  thy  sight." 

Our  hearts  swell  with  emotion,  and  tears  of  irre- 
pressible sorrow  flow,  as  we  gaze  upon  that  brow, 
calm  and  beautiful  in  death,  and  reflect  that  we  are 
beholding  it  for  the  last  time  on  earth.    But  another 


15 


thought  succeeds,  and  our  sorrow  is  almost  turned 
into  joy,  even  while  we  gaze :  —  this  form,  so  familiar 
and  so  loved,  is  the  forsaken  tenement;  the  spirit, 
Ella's  self,  having  received  the  baptism  of  immortal- 
ity, has  joined  the  great  multitude  of  the  redeemed 
before  the  throne  of  God. 


"  As,  bowed  by  sudden  storms,  the  rose 
Sinks  on  the  garden's  breast, 
Down  to  the  grave  our  sister  goes, 
In  sUence  there  to  rest. 

"  No  more  with  us  her  tuneful  voice 
The  hymn  of  praise  shall  swell ; 
No  more  her  cheerful  heart  rejoice 
When  peals  the  Sabbath  bell. 

"  Yet  if,  in  yonder  cloudless  sphere, 
Amid  a  sinless  throng. 
She  utters  in  her  Saviour's  ear 
The  everlasting  song,  — 

"  No  more  we  11  mourn  the  absent  friend. 
But  lift  the  earnest  prayer. 
And  daily  every  effort  bend 
To  rise  and  and  join  her  there." 


y 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


A     001  080  583     6 


i 


